Water heater



July 2 1935- 1J. LAVENDER u 2,006,836

WATER HEATER Filed Aug. 9, 1934 INVENTOR l@fa/2n alla vender PatentedJuly 2, 1935 UNITED STATES WATER HEATER John J. Lavender, Bronx, N. Y.,assignor to Lester M. Friedman, New York, N. Y.

Application August 9, 1934, Serial No. 739,089

9 Claims.

lThis invention relates to Water heaters oi the submerged type, whereina water circulating heat exchange unit is supported in submergedrelation in a boiler.

Special objects of the invention are to provide a water heater oi thisgeneral nature, which will have a high heat exchange efciency for arelatively large volume of water, making a storage tan.; unnecessary; inwhich the water will be heated in circulation and flow maintained toprevent deposit and accumulation oi lime and other impurities; whichwill be of simple rugged design, relatively inexpensive and adapted tobe readily installed at low cost.

Other objects of the invention and the novel features of construction,combinations and relations of parts by which the objects are attainedwill appear as the speciiication proceeds.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specificationillustrates one of the practical commercial embodiments of theinvention, it being understood that the structure may be modiiied andchanged in various ways all within the true spirit and broad scope ofthe invention.

Fig. l in the drawing is a broken and part sectional perspective View ofthe complete unit .as mounted in a boiler shell.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view as on substantially the planeof line 2-2 of Fig. l, showing in particular the inner or back header.

Fig. 3 is a similar View as on substantially the plane of line 3 3 ofFig. l, looking toward the outer or front header.

Fig. 4 is a further enlarged broken sectional detail as on line i-d orFig. 2, through the left hand mixing chamber of the inner header.

Fig. 5 is a similarly enlarged broken sectional detail substantially ason line 5--5 of Fig. 3, through the inlet chamber of the outer header.

The heat exchange unit consists basicallyA of 'an outer header l,divided by horizontal and Yvertical partitions 8, 9, into a cold waterinlet chamber l), a mixing chamber H, and a hot Water outlet chamber l2,an inner header i3, divided by vertical partition I4, into mixing andreturn chambers l5, It and tubing l1, connecting the upper inlet chamberH3 of the cuter header with the upper portion oi chamber l5, in theinner header, tubing I8 extending from the lower portion of this chamberback to one side of the lower, mixing chamber Il, in the outer header,tubing it extending from the other side of this chamber to the lowerportion of chamber l5, in the inner header and tubing 2t,

' extending from the upper portion oi this last Ychamber to the hotwater outlet chamber I2,

of the outer header.

In the illustration, there are seven tubes in each group, all of thesame size, but the size and Y number of tubes, as a whole or inthedifferent groups may be varied as conditions may dictate.

The tubes secured to the headers in a novel manner as illustratedparticularly'in Figs. i and 5.

posing walls of the headers. These openings are counterbored to the sizeof the tube ends as at 22, leaving the shoulders 23, for the ends of,thetubes to abut. These counterbores are broached or seamed on a bevel asat 2Q, to leave the convergeht tapering spaces about the tubes and thesespaces are iled with a solder metal 25.

The flowing Aof the solder in and around the ends oi the tubes is madepractical by pro- These views show that openings 2|, are drilled orotherwise formed in the inner opviding a rim or flange 26, all about thetube receiving portion of the header wall.

in practice, the tubes, all cut to the same length, are driven intotheir seats in one of the headers and, arranged with the tubes standingf vertically, the header wall is heated and the solder flowed in aboutthe tubes under confinement of the rim 2li. This operation is thenreversed for the other header.

While the securing of the tubes at one end in one header serves to spacethem quite deiinitely, it is a fact that at their free ends, the tubesmay offset to some extent and make it difficult to enter them all intotheir seats in the opposite header. To overcome this diiiiculty,

there is provided in the illustration a spacer or gage plate 2l,perforated in exact accordance With the seats in the headers. Aftersecuring the tubes in one header, this gage plate is slipped over thefree ends of the tubes, individual tubes being bent one way or anotherto pass through the gage openings in this plate. With the plate inposition over the free ends or the tubes, they will be held in properregister to then pass freely into the seats in the Other header. Afterserving this registering purpose, the gage plate may be slipped furtherback along the tubes out of the way of soldering operations on thesecond header, these being carried out as in the rst instance, bylocating the assembled parts with this header upright andthe flange 126,of the same dening a solder receiving well about the tube ends.

The gage plate 2l, after its use as described, serves as a permanentspacer for the tubes,

being positioned at any desired intermediate it acts as a support forthe inner or intermediate portion of the heater by having a chain 28, orother supporting medium engaged or connected therewith. This supportingfunction becomes particularly important in extra long forms of theheater and in such instances, the spacer and supporting plate is locatedwhere it can best support the inner header and intermediate portions oftubing. If considered necessary or de- 5 sirable, an extra one or moreof these supporting plates may be slipped over the tubing before thesecond header is applied and then be positioned on the tubing, wherethey can best serve their purposes.

In addition to its function as asolder conf'lning well, the flange 26 ofthe outer header serves as a locating and supporting medium intheopening 29, in which it is entered in the boiler plate 30, as will beclear particularly from Figs. 1 and 5..

T0 securely fasten the unit to the boiler as simply as possible andwithout straining the boiler shell, the structure as shown in Figs, 1, 3an'd`5 is employed, involving a heavy outstanding `flange 3|, all aboutthe outer header to overlap that part of the boiler plate about theopening 29 therein and ODDOSed to this at the inside 0f the boiler plateare the washer enlargements or clamp plates 32. These may extend partlyor completely about the boiler opening and through them extend the heavybolts 33, projecting through openings 34, in the boiler shell andthroughthe bolt lug enlargments 35 of flange 3|. A suitable gasket 36,is placed back of this flange.V When the nuts 3'|'on the outer ends ofthe Ibolts are turned down, it will be seen that the header will besecurely and firmly attached without Vstraining the` boiler sheet.

To enable inspection and'v cleanout if necessary, removable plugs suchas indicated at 38, may be provided in Vthe outer walls of either orbOth headers. Also for protective purposes, one or more fuse plugs suchas shown at 39, Fig. 5, may be entered in thevouter header. Athermometer or thermometers may be entered in place of the plugs in thecold water inlet or hot water Youtlet chambers, either one or both.

The construction illustrated makes a'particularly efficient heatexchanger for water heating purposes. The installation is relativelysimple and can be quickly made after an opening of j the requisite sizeis cut in the boiler shell. The four way flow of water through theseveral groups of relatively small pipes assures rapid `heating by flowalone, dispensing entirely with the need for a storage tank.V Thiscirculation heating also eliminates sedimentation and lime incrustationand the like. The tubes may be Vall of the same size, keeping the costlow and the matter of assembly simple.

A suitable cold water supply connection is indicated at 40, in Fig. 1and a hot water outlet pipe at 4|. These are both entered through thetop of the inlet and outlet chambers of the outer header to preventsiphoning.

'I'he bolts 33 are shown as of special construction having the oppositeends screwthreaded, but the intermediate portions 42 which pass throughthe lugs of the header, plain and unthreaded. These plain portions ofthe bolts further are shown as bevelled at 4,3, where they join theinner threaded portions of the bolts. This latter is to crowd packing at44, against the face of the sheet around the bolt openings 34.

It is at present preferred to screw-thread both the openings 34 in theboiler sheet and bolt openings '44 in the clamp plates 32. 'I'he partsare then assembled by threading the bolts in through the boiler sheetand clamp plates.

the bolts fully seat in the boiler sheet, the packing 44 is wound aroundthe bolts, so that the bevelled shoulders 43 will carry this packingdown into sealing engagement and prevent any leakage past the threads.The plain unthreaded portions 42 enable the use of a Stillson forsetting the bolts up tight in the boiler sheet or one or two nuts may beapplied to the outer ends of the bolts for turning them into the boilersheet. The clamp plates, if necessary, may be turned more or less, tobring them up tight againstthe inner face of the boiler sheet and thesemay then be locked against further turning by lock nuts 45, applied tothe extreme inner ends of the bolts. The gasket 36 is then placed overthe projecting outer ends of the bolts, after which the inner end of theheating unit is inserted through the boiler opening until the bolt lugs,which are unthreaded, slide into posibeY very slightly larger than theactual active portion of the heating unit. The front and back headersmay each be a single integral casting and the tubing is all in straightlengths without any loops of pipe. The gage plate likewise is a singleintegral piece drilled in conformity with the spacing of the tubes. Thisplate when in position on the tubes serves as a spreader holding thetubes spaced outwardly as well as preventing them from collapsing towardeach other.

What is claimed is:

1. In a heater of the character disclosed, a header having a diaphragmwall perforated to receive the ends of circulation tubes and aflangesurrounding the perforated portions of said wall to confine a tubesealing medium. k

2. In a wat-er heater of the character disclosed, a header having a Wallperforated to receive circulating tubing and a mounting flangeprojecting from said wall andforming a Well about the perforated portionof the wall to hold a tube sealing medium. y 3. A heat exchanger of thecharacter disclosed, comprising end headers with perforated opposedwalls having counterbored and beveled openings therein and surrounded bya confining flange, tubing engaged at opposite ends in said counterboredbeveled openings, soldering metal confined by said flanges and enteredin the beveled seats about said tube ends, one of said headers havinginlet and outlet chambers and a mixing chamber in communication with thetubing and the other header having mixing chambers in communication withsaid tubing.

4. A heat exchanger of the character disclosed,

comprising end headers with perforated opposed walls having counterboredand beveled openings thereinand surrounded by a confining flange,

tubing engaged at opposite ends in said counter- ,I

communication with the tubing and the other Just before header havingmixing chambers in communica- 75 an opening to receive a Water heatingunit and screw threaded bolt receiving openings, bolts turned into saidscrew-threaded openings and having bevelled portions adjacent the outerface of the sheet, bolt packing about the bolts in front of saidbevelled portions, heavy clamp members on the bolts at the inner face ofthe sheet, a water heating unit extended through the sheet opening andhaving a portion closing said opening and perforated to slide over outerprojecting portions of the bolts, a gasket beneath said covering portionof the heater unit and covering the bolt packings and nuts on theprojecting outer ends of the bolts for securing said covering portionand for compressing the gasket against the boiler sheet and about saidbolt packings.

6. In combination with a boiler sheet having an opening to receive awater heating unit and screw-threaded bolt receiving openings, boltsturned into said screw-threaded openings and having bevelled portionsadjacent the outer face of the sheet, bolt packing about the bolts infront of said bevelled portions, heavy clamp members on the bolts at theinner face of the sheet, a water heating unit extended through the sheetopening and having a portion closing said opening and perforated toslide over outer projecting portions of the bolts, a gasket beneath saidcovering portion of the heater unit and covering the bolt packings, andnuts on the projecting outer ends of the bolts for securing saidcovering portion and for compressing the gasket against the boiler sheetand about said bolt packings, said heavy clamp members being disposed atthe sides of the sheet opening and being screw-threaded on the bolts andlock nuts on the inner ends of the bolts set up against said clampmembers.

'1. A tankless water heater of the submerged type, comprising an outerheader adapted to be secured to a boiler shell and consisting of asingle hollow integral casting having an internal horizontal partitionextending entirely across the interior of the same, a vertical partitionextending from said horizontal partition to the top of said header, theupper wall of the header having a cold water inlet and a hot wateroutlet at opposite sides or" said internal vertical partition, saidheader having an integral inner wall perforated for tubing and providedwith an inwardly extending ange for positioning the header in a boileropening and for forming a solder well about the periorations in said endwall, said header further having a surrounding abutment flange forengagement against a boiler sheet, an inner header consisting of asingle integral hollow casting having a single internal verticalpartition and an inner perforated wall surrounded by a solder Wellforming flange, straight lengths of tubing entered in said perforatedinner end walls of the two headers and tube securing medium conned bysaid solder well forming flanges about the end portions of said tubing.

8. A tankless water heater of the submerged type, comprising an outerheader having a substantially vertical ange by which the same may besecured over an opening in a vertical boiler wall and provided with anyinternal substantially horizontal partition extending entirely acrossthe interior of the same, a substantially vertical partition extendingfrom said horizontal partition to the top wall of said header, said topwall of the header having a substantially vertically extending coldwater inlet and a substantially vertically extending hot water outlettherein at opposite sides of said internal substantially verticalpartition, said substantially vertical partition thereby providing withthe substantially horizontal partition cold water inlet and hot wateroutlet chambers in side-by-side relation in the upper portion of theheader and the substantially horizontal partition providing below it asingle exchange chamber in the lower portion or" the header beneath saidcold water inlet and hot Water outlet chambers, an inner header having asingle internal substantially vertical partition dividing the interiorof the same into two chambers in side-by-side relation, tubing extending:from said cold water inlet chamber in the upper portion of the outerheader to the upper portion ci one of the side-by-side chambers of theinner header, tubing extending from the lower portion of said same sidechamber back to the exchange chamber in the lower portion of the outerheader below the inlet chamber therein, tubing extending from said sameexchange chamber in the outer header from below the hot water outletchamber to the lower portion of the other side chamber of the innerheader and tubing extending from the upper portion of said latter sidechamber of the inner header back to the hot water outlet chamber in theupper portion of the outer header.

9. A tankless water heater of the submerged type, comprising an outerheader having an internal horizontally extending partition across theinterior of the same and a partition extending vertically from saidhorizontal partition to the upper wall of the header and thereby formingan exchange chamber entirely across the lower portion of the header andcold water inlet and hot water outlet chambers in side-byside relationin the upper portion of said header above said exchange chamber, saidupper chambers having inlet and outlet passages respectively or entranceof cold water and outow of hot water, an inner header having a singleinternal substantially vertical partition dividing the interior of thesame into two chambers in side-by-side relation, tubing extending fromsaid cold water inlet chamber in the upper portion of the outer headerto the upper portion of one of the side-by-side chambers in the innerheader, tubing extending from the lower portion or" said same sidechamber back to the exchange chamber in the lower portion of the outerheader below the inlet chamber therein, tubing extending from theopposite end portion of said same exchange chamber below the hot wateroutlet chamber to the lower portion of the other side chamber of theinner header and tubing extending from the upper portion of said latterside chamber oi the inner header back to the hot water outlet chamber inthe upper portion of the outer header.

JOI-IN J. LAVENDER.

